Why Drinking Alcohol Can Cause Bruising AAI
The best approach to prevent alcohol-induced bruising is to minimize or stop consuming alcohol in large volumes. Bruising can be one of the side effects of alcohol dependence, but it’s not the sole cause of it. It can also make circulating platelets less sticky, rendering them less effective in forming clots. This increased blood flow means more blood might escape the vessel if it ruptures. Vasodilation is the widening of the blood vessels caused by the relaxation of the muscles in these blood vessels. Learn about doxepin for sleep, including recommended dosages, how it works, and safety considerations.
Physical Signs You’re Drinking Too Much
- If alcohol begins to interfere with daily functioning, but you have been unsuccessful with giving up drinking, seeking treatment can help you to stay committed to recovery.
- While the liver is designed to filter out toxins, the sensitive cells that line the liver can be damaged by alcohol exposure.
- The side effect is temporary, but over time, heavy drinking can lead to permanent muscle degeneration that leaves the legs and arms weak and painful.
- While every person’s alcohol addiction is unique, alcohol affects people in similar ways.
This condition can affect children or adults out of the blue or following a viral infection. Patients can develop severe reductions in their platelet count and come out in a fine rash, which is actually small bruises. These could be signs of an underlying medical condition impairing clotting and platelet function.
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Bruises happen when something like a bump damages the small blood vessels right under the surface of the skin. Normally, your blood will clot quickly, stopping the blood vessels from leaking and preventing extreme bruising. Blood-thinning medications help protect you from heart attacks and strokes by preventing blood clots.
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Call the doctor if the bruise is accompanied by swelling and extreme pain, especially if you take a blood-thinning medication for a medical condition. Call the doctor if bruising occurs easily or for no apparent reason. Call the doctor if the bruise is painful and under a toenail or fingernail. Von Willebrand disease When blood isn’t clotting like it should, bleeding can be heavier or longer than normal. Whenever this blood gets trapped under the surface of the skin, it will form a bruise. Someone with von Willebrand disease might notice large or lumpy bruises from minor, even unnoticeable, injuries.
ARLD does not often cause symptoms until it’s reached an advanced stage. If you misuse alcohol, you may have liver damage, even though you have none of the symptoms above. If you’re worried about your drinking habits or bruising, talk to a doctor. They can help you determine whether you have a problem and what to do next. Nutritional deficiencies, like a lack of vitamin K or vitamin C, can also result in bruising easily.
Your judgment and decision-making skills will be affected fairly quickly when you start drinking. This is because it affects the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain that controls reasoning and higher brain function. Since alcohol also lowers your inhibitions, you may be more likely to try something that you normally wouldn’t do, including potentially dangerous physical activities. This is also why people may be willing to get behind the wheel of a car while they’re drunk. Your body uses vitamin C to make collagen, a protein that is the substructure of your blood vessels. It’s rare to have extremely does drinking make you bruise easier low levels of vitamin C, but when you do, your blood vessels may be weaker.
Does drinking alcohol cause bruising?
In our blood there are tiny particles called clotting factors and platelets; their job is to form clots only when the marijuana addiction vessel wall is damaged (when you are wounded). It was very surprising for drug addiction treatment me to know that we damage our vessels every time you scratch your hand, kick the ball or keep your arm on the armrest for a long time! Micro-bleeds form at the location of these unnoticeable injuries and clotting factors along with the platelets take care of these micro-bleeds.